Eva - the First Rescue

by Debbie Guss
(Sherwood, Arkansas)

Back in the 90s, I met a woman that worked with CARE and she was always asking me to adopt a rescue dog. I told her if she ever got a schnauzer, to let me know and I would take the dog. One day, she came to my office and told me she had a schnauzer for me. Since I am a woman of my word, I told her I would go pick up the dog.

After a 2 hour car ride, we arrived at the facility to pick up our schnauzer. The lady brought out this fuzzy timid little mess. I couldn't tell what breed of dog she was. The woman told me the pup's name was Eva. I held Eva in my lap and she trembled all the way home (2 hour car ride).

When we arrived home, I took her to the back yard and put her on the grass to go potty. She had never been on grass before. She was a puppy mill dog. That just broke my heart. I had two other schnauzers that I had purchased from breeders. Eva immediately became friends with her doggie brother and sister. However, she was terrified of humans and didn't like human contact at all.

Eva learned to use the doggie door right away, but she wouldn't potty on the grass as she was scared of it. When I would come home at night she hid under the bed. I wanted to hold her and pet her and let her know she was loved, but she didn't want any part of that. After many months and lots of ritz crackers, she finally summoned the courage to get close enough to take a cracker.

Over the years she was with us, she eventually learned to like a "little" loving. She was not a lap dog but would let you pet her for a tiny bit. I have no idea what her life was before we adopted her, but I am pretty sure she was a happy little girl for the rest of her life even if she didn't want to be held and cuddled. She really loved her doggie family. In fact, the male lost his sight to diabetes and she was his guide dog until he passed away. Our lives were so much richer because of Eva.

Search Schnauzers-Rule.com

Custom Search